The French communist party from 1958 to 1978: Crisis and endurance

Despite its constant preaching for collaboration with the socialists, the PCF has failed to pursue this line either during the events of 1968 or during the electoral campaign of 1977/78. This resulted in electoral defeats for both parties, in mutual recriminations and in internal crises. Unlike the PS, the PCF has always succeeded in overcoming its recurrent crises. This stability is due, in our opinion, to the enduring support the communists enjoy among the working class and other groups in French society, whose socio‐economic marginality and problems of identity are reflected in the PCF's ambiguous attitude to France's political system.     

An unusual blunt force trauma pattern and mechanism to the cranial vault: Investigation of an atypical infant homicide

This case report presents an unusual fracture pattern in the cranium of a four-month-old infant indicative of child abuse. Upon postmortem examination, the infant presented with numerous bilateral linear cranial fractures running perpendicular to the sagittal suture with depressed and curvilinear fractures apparent on the supra-auricular surfaces of the cranium. Histological evidence indicates multiple traumatic events to the cranium. In addition, the stair-step pattern of a parietal fracture may represent multiple contiguous fractures from repeated loading of the head at different times with variation of the focal points of compressive force. Additionally, the left humerus, left radius, and left ulna have healing metaphyseal fractures, and the left ulna also has an antemortem diaphyseal fracture which resulted in the distal metaphysis being rotated 45 degrees medially. Integration of autopsy, anthropological, and neuropathological reports for this case suggest multiple inflicted injury episodes with a repeated atypical mechanism(s) to the cranial vault of the infant. During investigative interviews, the caretaker admitted to squeezing the infant's head and neck on multiple occasions to quiet the child. This reported abusive mechanism is consistent with the pattern of symmetric cranial fractures and soft tissue injuries indicating asphyxiation. This case report provides forensic investigators with a potential trauma mechanism to explore in cases when a similar pattern of cranial trauma is observed and highlights the need for greater research on fracture propagation and fracture healing in the infant cranium.     

Identifying reliable ions for the statistical differentiation of structurally similar fentanyl analogs

Definitive identification of fentanyl analogs based on mass spectral comparison is challenging given the high degree of structural and, hence, spectral similarity. To address this, a statistical method was previously developed in which two electron-ionization (EI) mass spectra are compared using the unequal variance t-test. Normalized intensities of corresponding ions are compared, testing the null hypothesis (H₀) that the difference in intensity is equal to zero. If H₀ is accepted at all m/z values, the two spectra are statistically equivalent at the specified confidence level. If H₀ is not accepted at any m/z value, then there is a significant difference in intensity at that m/z value between the two spectra. In this work, the statistical comparison method is applied to distinguish EI spectra of valeryl fentanyl, isovaleryl fentanyl, and pivaloyl fentanyl. Spectra of the three analogs were collected over a 9-month period and at different concentrations. At the 99.9% confidence level, the spectra of corresponding isomers were statistically associated. Spectra of different isomers were statistically distinct, and ions responsible for discrimination were identified in each comparison. To account for inherent instrument variations, discriminating ions for each pairwise comparison were ranked based on the magnitude of the calculated t-statistic (t_calc) value. For a given comparison, ions with higher t_calc values are those with the greatest difference in intensity between the two spectra and, therefore, are considered more reliable for discrimination. Using these methods, objective discrimination among the spectra was achieved and ions considered most reliable for discrimination of these isomers were identified.     

William Hurst,Ruling Before the Law: The Politics of Legal Regimes in China and Indonesia

Journal of Chinese Political Science -     

Two Novel Methods for Enhancing Postmortem Fingerprint Recovery from Mummified Remains

Postmortem fingerprint collection is a routine part of many forensic death investigations. Although the production of postmortem prints is usually straight forward, several obstacles and scenarios can make the collection difficult. A common challenge occurs when finger pads are mummified. Several current techniques allow for softening and rehydration of mummified finger pads; however, despite the employment of such techniques, the production of adequate postmortem fingerprints can remain elusive. The authors present two techniques that can improve the chances of obtaining suitable fingerprints from mummified remains. The “baby powder method” involves applying a cornstarch‐based powder, such as baby powder, onto the darkened and mummified finger pads, to allow better visualization of the fingerprint detail. The “transillumination method” involves carefully dissecting away the tissues underlying the finger pad, followed by placement of a bright light source underneath the finger pad, such that the finger ridge pattern is illuminated.     

Growing Grassroots Democracy: Dynamic Outcomes in Building New York City’s Participatory Budgeting Program

Within five years of its launch, Participatory Budgeting in New York City (PBNYC) spread from four to thirty-one of New York’s fifty-one council districts, enabling city residents to directly allocate thirty-eight million dollars in public funds. During this period, PBNYC’s neighborhood-level forums remained largely unchanged, but, in order to sustain growth, administrative shifts altered the institution’s basic design. This article examines how and why this transition affected the degree of popular control afforded by PBNYC, specifically within its cross-district Steering Committee. Analysis of original interviews and organizational documents indicates that the transition brought important, if modest, gains but impeded aspects of community empowerment through bureaucratic resistance and imbalanced governmental-civil society roles. Key players responded by reforming PBNYC’s internal governance. This case sheds light on the factors that shape participatory institutions and their impacts, emphasizing the dynamic interactions between actors and the resulting gains and losses that aggregate toward longer term outcomes.